The Remembrance of a Hero
by Nukefox19
Summary: Naruto died against Madara and managed to bring him along, but he's given another chance and is sent back in time. During the phase, he loses almost all of his memories, except... how to fight.


**_Chapter 1: A Second Chance  
><em>**

Naruto stood weakly against the last of the Akatsuki, bleeding profoundly as his breathing became heavy. Across the deserted wasteland that resembled a battlefield stood Madara, all beat up, bloody, and exhausted, as he panted harshly. Madara slouched, as blood escaped his lips and other wounds, "There's no escape for you boy." The shinobi that everyone thought was dead spoke in hatred, as he gripped his broken arm. "The Kyuubi will be mine no matter what."

The two remained standing their ground, but then Naruto could hear Madara laughing, "No one's coming to save you, so why do you try?"

Naruto's breathing was starting to become unstable, "I'm fighting to protect them!" The blonde placed a hand against his chest due to an ache coming from his heart.

"I promised Pervy Sage that I would bring peace to this world." An image of his old teacher flashed in his mind, but then another image flashed in his mind. The image showed an azure-colored hair woman, "Konan put her hopes in me since Nagato past on his dream to me!"

Madara laughed again, "It doesn't matter, the Kyuubi will be mine!" With the last of his strength, Madara charged as he began to make hand seals.

Naruto pulled on Kyuubi's power and took his golden form for the last time as his chakra gathered black and white particles within his hands. The dense chakra formed larger before the jutsu was supported by one hand as the Kyuubi host lifted it high above himself. Dark blades began to surround the reddish-black ball, spinning rapidly, alarming the Uchiha.

Madara summoned **Susanoo** before he called, "**Yasaka's Magatama!**" The triple tomoe disk that was connected by a strong wrap of chakra was thrown. Naruto's eyes became slits as he finalized his jutsu and rushed to meet the attack. Giving everything he had as he thought about his loved ones, tears of anguish spilled from his eyes as he shouted, "**Rasenshuriken!"** The two attacks clashed before a grand explosion ensued.

The dust cleared to show Naruto's chakra shroud dissipate. He couldn't see Madara anywhere. A warping sound was heard behind him before he was stabbed through his chest, just missing the golden-haired man's heart. The last Uchiha smirked triumphantly as the rest of his mask was broken.

"I…I told you. My plan will come to fruition. But you will pay for taking my arm away from me!" The staff part of his fan weapon was further impaled into the Kyuubi host, forcing more blood seep past his lips as tears slid down his whiskered cheeks.

"_I'm not going to be able to return home… after this… and there's no telling if Madara will die from this."_ More tears came from him as he felt the weapon graze his beating heart, making him cough up blood. Tsunade, Shizune, Iruka, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro… He knew that he wouldn't be able to see his friends again after this. Rage was rekindled in his heart as the tears continued to flow before the jinchuuriki silently went into his seal. He still had one more promise to keep.

Appearing in the sewers of his mind, Naruto walked to the kitsune demon and stopped. The fox did not speak a word, only looking at its host in apathy. "Just because I let everyone else down, doesn't mean you have to fall in that category as well." The wooden cage was released, allowing the fox to stretch to its full height.

The golden-haired man's eyes were shadowed as he continued; "I'm going to set you free now and when I do, all I ask of you is to kill us both. This will be the only chance to take him out."

Silence reigned as they both stared at each other. The fox chuckled, **"You were always so selfish. Naruto, I'll never forget you." **

Naruto smiled, as he held his hand out and lifted his shirt up. His fingertips began to glow with chakra, while the seal appeared on his stomach. The blonde slammed his fingertips on the seal and turned it, which unlocked the seal on the cage as well. The cage opened, as the nine-tails just sat there, **"Goodbye, Naruto."**

_Reality_

An explosion of crimson chakra formed next to them and when it dimmed down, it revealed the nine-tails in its full form. Madara looked to his side and was completely astonished seeing the nine-tails standing a good distance from them in its full form. The tails from the fox all pointed upward, as the fox opened its mouth. A ball of purple chakra formed and grew larger every second. Naruto, deciding not to waste time, quickly bear hugged the last Sharingan user. Madara glanced back at the blonde, "What are you doing! You're going to get us both killed!"

Naruto smiled and stared back into his enemy's eyes, "Believe it."

Madara looked back up at the nine-tails to see that the ball of chakra has reached its limit, as the fox ate it. The fox looked at the two, while Madara tried to break free, but it was no good. _**"Farewell, Naruto." **_The fox thought, as it opened its mouth and shot out the powerful blast of chakra down at them.

"No!" Madara shouted, as the massive blast of chakra caused a colossal explosion of epic proportions, devastating everything within a two hundred yard radius.

Smoke from the debris began to clear to reveal two bloody bodies inside a massive crater. One had its face etched in horror as a small fire burned the dead human charring flesh. The other body had its blue eyes opened halfway, seeing that his plan worked. He looked around one last time to see that the fox was gone. A couple minutes passed, as life began to fade from his eyes. His eyes began to slowly close. With the little life he had left, he could feel people coming towards his direction, _"J-Just a little more time… please… so I can see them one last time…"_

* * *

><p>The new team seven (apart from Naruto) were running as fast as they could to where the explosion occurred. The silver haired man was worried out of his mind once they saw the crimson chakra explode from a far, <em>"That was the nine-tail's all right."<em> Kakashi thought.

Sai looked at the pink haired girl and realized that she was worried for their teammate. The pale skinned shinobi looked back out ahead, _"You better be all right Naruto."_

A couple minutes later, the team came to a stop since Kakashi slowed down, "Kakashi sensei, what's…"

Sai and Sakura saw the silver haired jounin standing in place looking down at something. The two came around him on separate sides, both their eyes widened in an instant. The three of them were looking down at an unconscious blonde with severe wounds all over his body. His eyes were closed and his body showed no signs of breathing. Sakura took a couple steps back and her body caused her to fall to her knees on its own. Her body started to tremble, as her heart began to ache. Sai's body was completely frozen, while Kakashi had his head hung low.

"We were too late…" Kakashi mentioned.

Naruto's life had ended and his wish was denied since his body couldn't hold much longer. Kakashi lifted his head up slightly and looked to the side of the lifeless blonde to see Madara's dead body, "You saved us all again… Naruto."

Sakura was now on all fours, as tears escaped her eyes. Once the tears reached her cheeks, they dropped to the ground. Sai's body came back and could hear his teammate crying. He walked over to her and tried to comfort her. Shockingly, she instantly wrapped her arms around the pale skinned shinobi and cried against his left shoulder. Ever since Sai had read books on how to comfort someone, he didn't have to think it over, as he wrapped his arms around her.

Kakashi bent down and scooped up the blonde in his arms, as he stood back up. He turned around with Naruto in his arms and looked at his two students, "Come on, we'll give Naruto a proper funeral."

Sakura didn't move and held onto Sai tight, preventing him from moving as well. Kakashi closed his single eye feeling the same pain coming from them. _"You did it… Naruto."_

**Three days later**

**Konoha Graveyard**

It's a dark and rainy day, as everyone had gathered for the hero's funeral. In front of the rather large group of people, was an opened casket sitting on a cart with Naruto inside of it. All of Naruto's closest friends were up in front of the crowd. Even though they won the war, not everyone was happy due to a major loss. All the Kages had even attended the funeral since they all had respect for the hero. Not only did he save Konoha once, but now he saved the entire world from falling to Madara. The Raikage had come to respect him and made him his rival since he was the Yondaime's son. The Tsuchikage paid his respect since seeing how someone so young put his life on the line and had actually saved the entire world. The Mizukage found the blonde attractive after hearing that he had defeated Pain and saved Konoha. She did manage to spend time with him and at times had a little fun with him. Gaara… he came because Naruto was like a brother to him. The blonde put his life on the line plenty of times to save him. It was when they were younger and the two of them fought when the leaf was being attacked. Naruto had woken him up to see that there was more to life and that there were people who cared for him. He even went up against the Akatsuki just to save him, even though he lost the one-tail.

Not only were the Kages here, but also one other person that was extremely close to him. Sasuke Uchiha was standing up in front paying his deepest respects for his non-blood related brother. During the war, Sasuke and Naruto ended up fighting one another. Naruto kept reaching Sasuke and telling him everything about Madara and how he wanted not just the Kyuubi, but his eyes as well. He always ignored him, until Madara actually jumped in and tried to take out the weaken Uchiha. That was when Naruto stopped Madara from doing so and left Sasuke behind to witness the truth. From then, that was when Naruto led Madara far from there so he could take him on.

One-by-one, Naruto's closest friends walked up to his casket to look at him and placed a flower on the cart before they left. Tsunade went up to the casket and turned to face the crowd, "Naruto was always a selfish knucklehead. He touched the hearts of many and cheered those who were always not so well."

* * *

><p>"<em>If only I could've seen them one last… wait," <em>The owner of the voice looked around to see nothing but darkness.

"**Uzumaki Naruto."**

Naruto saw a white figure appear, _"Who are you? Where am I? I thought I was dead."_

"**You are, and I'm a shinigami, but I'm here on an urgent matter."**

"_And what might that be?"_

"**Do you wish to have a second chance?"**

The blonde's eyes widened, _"Yes!"_

"**Let me be more specific, by second chance, you will be back alive."**

Naruto smiled widely, **"However, you will be sent back in time and you must stop Madara again."**

"_Wait, why? I stopped him already and… it cost me my life…"_

"**That it did, but do you wish to live once more? Madara will not be like he was when you fought him. He will be limited and not as strong. If you wish to be sent back in time to live again, you will have your abilities still. However, the Kyuubi is no longer sealed inside you."**

"_I know, I released him before…"_

"**Even if you hadn't released him, you still would not have the Kyuubi sealed within you. When you are sent back, the Kyuubi is sealed in your mother."**

Naruto's eyes widened, _"Wait, you're going to send me back to where I can actually see my mother and… my dad!"_

"**Yes, but I'm sorry that you will lose your memories of everyone that you know, except Madara. Though, everyday you live back then, you may end up gaining little of it back. There's no telling when it'll happen or if it even will."**

Naruto frowned sadly, _"So I won't be able to remember anyone?"_

"**That's right. It can't be helped."**

Naruto stared at the unidentified shinigami, _"I'll accept it."_

"**There's no going back, are you sure?"**

"_Yes, I just want to stop Madara before it's too late."_

"**Very well. When you arrive, you will not remember anything from this. You will only remember your abilities; your first name only, your age, the toads, and that you must stop Madara. But, you will keep that a secret to yourself until the time comes to discuss it with the others."**

"_I understand."_

* * *

><p>"Rest in peace… Naruto." Tsunade closed the casket, as Kakashi, Gai, Sasuke, and Iruka grabbed the rope tied around the closed casket. They lifted it off the cart and lowered it carefully into the dug up hole they had for him. When the casket hit the bottom, they all dropped the rope and grabbed a shovel that was nearby and began to bury the hero. Within the casket, the body of the hero was gone.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto's unconscious body was lying deep within the forest outside of Konoha with no clothing on. His eyes slowly opened, as he saw the trees and bushes all around him. He sat up and kept looking around wondering where he was since he had no trace of memory of how he got here, "Why's it so cold?" He asked himself.<p>

He looked down at himself to see that he was completely naked, "Ah! I'm naked! Where's my clothes!" He shouted, as he kept snapping his head looking in all sorts of directions.

"Sensei, why did you want us to come out here?"

Naruto snapped his head to the sound of the voices and began to panic, _"Shit, shit, shit."_

"Must you ask so many questions Obito?" Rin asked.

"Well, he always drags out to places for no reason." Obito answered.

"What's wrong Obito? Can I not spend time with my students by enjoying a walk?" Minato asked.

"That's why you brought us out here! This is boringgg." Obito whined.

Kakashi kept quiet and sighed from hearing Obito's whining, "Baka!" Rin said, as she knocked him on the head.

"Ow, ow, ow! What was that for?"

"Quit being so mean. Sensei just wishes to spend time with us."

Minato and Kakashi laughed quietly, but then the group all felt a presence up ahead. Minato continued on, "Wait here students."

Naruto began to panic hearing that someone was coming, but he couldn't find himself to do anything. Minato came out from a bush to see someone with an all to familiar hairstyle and realized that the guy's naked, but not just that, he saw that this guy had no head protector with him and couldn't tell what village he was from, "Um… what are you doing out here?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I don't know how I got here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds goofy and all, but I can't remember."

"I see, well, give me a minute. I'll bring you some clothes." Minato mentioned, as he walked back to his team.

"Sensei, what happened?" Rin asked, as Minato came back.

"You three wait right here, okay? Don't go past that bush." Minato mentioned, as he disappeared in a yellow flash.

The three looked at one another, "Why did he tell us to not go past the bush?" Obito asked.

Rin knocked him on top of his head once again, "If he told us that, then we should listen to him. We shouldn't have to question each other about it. Sheesh!"

A yellow flash came to the three's vision to see their sensei with a pair of black shinobi pants, boxers, and a red sleeveless shirt, "Sensei, why do you have those clothes with you?" Rin asked.

Obito crossed his arms and looked the opposite way, "And I'm the one asking questions." He mumbled.

Rin, however, heard him and punched the top of his head again, "Shut up!"

Obito placed both his hands on his head and rubbed it softly, "Why do you always have to hit me?"

Minato smiled, as he went back to the unknown person. Naruto was just standing their blushing in embarrassment. "Here." Minato said, as he tossed the blonde the clothes.

"Thank you." Naruto said, as he quickly put the clothes on.

Minato stood there and looked at the blonde's hairstyle, then at the whisker marks, followed by his blue eyes, _"He looks like me a bit." _Minato thought.

Naruto was curious now since the guy was examining him, "Is there something wrong?"

Minato shook his head, "No, but you should come back to the village with us."

"Village?"

Minato cocked an eyebrow, "You don't know what these stand for?" Minato asked, as he pointed at the forehead protector wrapped tightly around his forehead.

Naruto examined the headband and saw a symbol on the metallic plate, "No."

"_This guy has no clue where he is then." _Minato thought.

"Sensei!" Naruto looked past the slightly older man, while Minato turned around to see his students coming to join in.

Obito, Rin, and Kakashi looked at the blonde that their leader was talking to, "Who is that?" Obito asked.

"He kind of looks like you sensei." Rin mentioned.

Minato scratched the back of his head exactly like Naruto does, "Yeah, I've realized when I saw him."

Kakashi kept staring at the guy standing across from them, "Sensei, did you manage to notice his chakra?"

Minato turned back to look at the look alike, "Yeah, it's… calm."

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

Minato shook his head, "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Naruto."

Minato cocked an eyebrow since the guy only told him his first name, "Um… what's your last name?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I don't know."

Minato and his team all sweat dropped, "You don't know your last name? How old are you then?"

"I'm eighteen."

"So, you're name is Naruto and you're eighteen, yet, you don't know your last name?" Obito asked, as he looked at his sensei, "This guy is weird." He whispered, while Rin and Kakashi both nodded in agreement.

"Obito's right, what sort of guy is he if he can't even remember his last name?" Rin asked.

Minato sighed and looked at Naruto, "All right Naruto. How about you come back to the village with us?"

"Ugh… sure."

"Great."

**A couple hours later**

**Konoha: Hokage's Office**

Naruto was now standing in an office with Minato standing next to someone that looked like that he could be his elder. He wore a hat and cloak, which he wore over a red, full-length gown that was tied using a white sash. He has a small goatee and short spiked hair, both being dark brown in color. He also has three lines running vertically under each eye. Although an old man, age had not taken much of a toll on his appearance, as it had on his skills, as it would only appear to have given him some gray hair, several wrinkles and very few liver spots. With age, it would seem that he had also taken to smoking a pipe.

Not only were they the only ones in the office, there are also a group of ANBU surrounding the blonde, "So, you found him in the forest?" The old man asked.

"Yes Lord Hokage." Minato answered.

The old man looked at the blonde standing across from his desk, "Your name's Naruto, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you really not remember your last name?"

Naruto shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I can't remember much of anything. The only thing I can remember is my abilities and my first name."

The Hokage sighed, 'Very well. As for your abilities, I'm going to give you a test."

Both Minato and Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "What kind of test?" They both asked.

The Hokage looked back and forth between the two blondes, "Minato, I want you to go up against him."

"Are you sure?" Minato asked.

"Yes, you two will spar at the main gates first thing tomorrow morning. That should be enough space."

Minato looked over at the other blonde, "Well, tomorrow morning it is then."

"Good. Now. Since you're going to be staying here, we need to find you a place to stay." The Hokage mentioned.

The room went silent, as Naruto sighed, "I'll be fine. Thanks anyway."

"Wait, then where do you plan to stay?" The Hokage asked.

"I'll be fine," He looked at Minato, "Just be ready for tomorrow."

Minato smiled, "I will be, you can count on that."

Naruto walked out of the office leaving Minato, the Hokage, and the group of ANBU, "Minato."

The blonde looked at the old man, "Yes Lord Hokage?"

"This young man's chakra seems so calm. Tomorrow, I want you to give it everything you've got."

Minato smiled once again, "I will." He replied, as he disappeared in a yellow flash.

**Minato's Apartment**

Minato appeared in the living room of his apartment and could smell something delicious roaming around the area, "Mmm… I'm loving that smell." He walked to the kitchen and saw his red haired wife Kushina cooking. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her hips, "I love your home cooked pork ramen."

The woman smiled, "How was your day?" She asked.

Minato unwrapped his arms, as he walked to the table and took a seat, "Well, I got to hang out with my students and we ran into someone that looks like me."

Kushina chuckled, "I've never seen someone that looks like you."

"Yeah. He has my hair color and the same style. Also, he has my eyes; it's just so weird. Oh, and also, he has three whisker looking marks on each cheek."

Kushina scooped up a large spoonful of her ramen from the pot and poured a good amount in each bowl, "That's strange."

"I know. Tomorrow, the Hokage wants me to spar with him in the morning."

Kushina grabbed two pairs of chopsticks along with the bowls and walked to the table, as she placed one in front of Minato and another on the opposite side. She took her seat, "Wait, you brought him in this village?"

"Yeah. When I found him, he was… naked and so I gave him a pair of my clothes."

"Why did you bring him in?" She asked, as she brought a piece of pork from her ramen to her mouth.

"Well, he seemed lost. He can only remember his first name, his age, and how to fight. He obviously lost a lot of his memories, but I'm curious of how and where he came from." He said, as he slurped up some noodles.

"Well, try not to overdo it."

"I'll try not to." He replied, as he slurped up some more noodles.

_Streets of Konoha_

The blonde walked down a street with little people as well. It was dark and only the streetlights gave them the ability to see where they were going. _"How am I going to find Madara like this? How?" _The blonde thought.

He came to a stop and spotted a long bench to his right. His eyes half open, as he walked over to it and sat down. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, as he stared at the ground, _"Why can I hardly remember anything?" _

"Ah, hello there Minato."

Naruto looked up to see a tall man with waist-length, spiky white hair that was tied back in a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face. He also had red lines that ran down from his eyes and wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for 'Oil'. He also had a noticeable wart on the right side of his nose. He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which he wore mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, traditional Japanese geta (wooden sandals), a red cloak with two simple yellow circles, and a scroll on his back. He also had a tattoo in his left palm.

"Wait, you're not Minato." He said, as he examined the whisker marks on his cheeks.

"Nope."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I must be off." He said, as he continued down the street.

Naruto sighed, as he brought his legs up on the bench and laid on his back, _"I'll have to ask that old man about Madara tomorrow." _The blonde closed his eyes completely unaware that someone was watching him from afar.

A few yards away from the blonde was an ANBU. This ANBU has a feminine figure with long purple hair and wore a cat mask. She turned back and headed towards her home.

**Morning**

Naruto was still fast asleep on the bench, while people just kept walking down the streets. Some would stop and just stare at him wondering why he was sleeping there, and if he was there all night.

"I've never seen him in this village before." A villager said.

"Yeah, he looks like Minato Namikaze." Another villager mentioned.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and could feel that he was being watched. He sat up, as his body ached slightly from sleeping on the bench for so long, _"Maybe I should've listened to what the old man had to say about my staying."_

The blonde placed his feet on the ground and stood up, as he looked around to see that some villagers were just staring at him. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, _"Guess I should've found a less populated area."_

The blonde ignored the others looking at him and made his way to the main gates. Minutes later, Naruto came upon the main entrance and saw Minato, the Hokage, and someone that he saw last night that thought he was Minato. Naruto pointed at the man with white spiky hair, "What's he doing here!"

Minato and Hiruzen (going to start using his name) looked at the person Naruto was pointing at, "What do you mean? This is Minato's teacher, Jiraiya." Hiruzen mentioned.

"Jiraiya?" Naruto questioned. A major pain struck his head, as he quickly placed his hand against his forehead.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Hiruzen asked.

The blonde nodded and ignored the pain, "Yes."

"Are you still wanting to take on my student here?" Jiraiya asked.

Again, Naruto nodded, _"I'll just start off simple for now. There's no need to use that mode… yet."_

Hiruzen and Jiraiya stepped back to keep themselves out of the way. They saw Naruto and Minato facing each other with a huge space in between each other, "I hope you're ready." Minato said.

Naruto smiled, "I sure am."

Hiruzen examined the two closely and smiled, "You two can begin."

**A/N: Here's a new beginning to a new story. Since it's the first chapter, I usually don't have much to say. This story will be a small harem, but it might expand slightly if I see it happening. I'll get more into the characters throughout the story. **

**Next chapter, father versus son, but these two don't know that. They just think the other is just another person. Anyway, let me know what you all would like to see happen and I'll see how it'll turnout. **


End file.
